World Book Day
Album phase
Author: Tang Xiaobing (Professor, Department of History, East China Normal University)
Respondent: Lv Wenhao (Associate Researcher, Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Li Jing (playwright, literary critic, media person)
Hou Lei (Young Writer and Poet)
Editor's Note
April day on earth, the most beautiful time to read.
On the occasion of World Book Day on April 23, Beijing Youth Daily Daily Supplement launched the "Questionnaire • Third Season", hoping that in the era of fragmented information, people will not give up paper reading; under the trend of electronics, they still maintain their love for paper books.
Different from the questionnaires of the previous two seasons, this season specially invited Shi Hang, Zheng Yuanjie, Xiao Fuxing, Tang Xiaobing, Fu Guangming, Li Dongjun and Yuan Yidan, seven old friends of the "Daily Supplement" and senior book lovers as the "question writers" of the questionnaire, they put their thoughts on reading into the title, in the high-quality questions and answers, readers can appreciate the joy and power that reading brings to mankind.
Reading is the investment behavior with the highest return rate in the world, and I hope that this version of the questionnaire can enlighten and moisten the hearts of every book lover.
I once used the theme article "Reading with a Sense of Resistance is Serious Reading", advocating a kind of serious reading that breaks away from fast reading and light reading and enters a serious reading that challenges the self. Not many people agree with this idea, and many people oppose it. Some readers even pointed out that in an era of equalism, intellectuals and readers should not put on a condescending posture to teach the public how to read, and any attempt to open a book list and read a guide is a violation of the right to read. What do you think about that?
Lv Wenhao: The new media can effectively use fragmented time, let people watch some shorter, more brain-saving articles or videos, and any material that adapts to this characteristic will get a better communication effect. If the author is asked to condense the highlights and main intentions of a long article and present them emotionally, it will become a good guide for the reader. By analogy, when the new book is published, it is also possible to engage in this kind of guided promotion activities, and I believe the effect will be good. For new media, if they can use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, they can exert their powerful communication power and make them an important helper for serious reading.
Now that the information is developed, there are many book media to do regular recommendation lists, this screening work can save readers a lot of time to explore, and the necessity of opening a book list by a small number of authoritative figures is indeed not great.
Li Jing: In the era of equalism, it is said that everyone has the right to speak freely, and everyone should also equally defend the right of others to speak. But the truth is that people seem to be particularly susceptible to offense. On a cultural level, the self-esteem of the "masses" in the face of the "elite" is also becoming more and more sensitive. But I think the joy of reading lies in expanding one's life, meeting a soul higher than oneself, and seeing truth, wisdom, and beauty that are difficult to reveal in the real world. Perhaps this has something in common with your "serious reading with a sense of resistance.".
Hou Lei: Nowadays, people are not only pursuing fast reading and light reading, but hoping to achieve the harvest of serious reading while reading quickly. Challenging reading provokes people to think, and everyone knows that people's understanding of themselves and the world is inseparable from thinking. So it's both rewarding and effortless, so why not? What is needed in this era is works that can be read lightly and produce some serious thinking. Such works are available, but they are relatively rare.
The logic in traditional society is that intellectuals teach popular culture. But times have changed, and the question now is not whether to open a book list (the book list can be opened without reference), but why does the public not believe in intellectuals? The intellectuals of the future will be better trained, there will be better intellectuals, and the masses will be convinced of the intellectuals. In the words of Gong Zizhen's poem: "I advise Tiangong to shake things up and demote talents in an eclectic manner." "When the time comes, there will be no need to invite anyone, and everyone will open their own book list."
With the rapid popularization of electronic reading, some people even pointed out that the identification, fascination and collection of paper books are also a "mental disease", the media is not important, there is no positive correlation between reading quality and reading medium, what is important is the freedom of the mind. What is your view on this?
Lv Wenhao: The shrinking space of paper books and the positive momentum of e-books are not only the objective reality we are facing, but also the irreversible historical trend. There are some paper books that of course need to be kept at hand, especially those that are thick and worth reading repeatedly, but the vast majority do not need to "occupy" our precious living and working space. Most of the books we read can be replaced by e-books, especially those that are occasionally checked, and there is no need to buy paper.
Li Jing: It is important not to label, not to symbolize. Due to my age and habits, I read mostly paper books and rarely e-books. This is because my senses are more receptive to paper books, have a sense of home for it, and reading e-books is always difficult to leave a deep memory; at the same time, there are more important reasons - I lack a sense of security about e-books.
I also understand young people's choice of e-books, which are much more space-saving and portable than paper books. But I still recommend that some of the books that build their lives need to be read repeatedly—just a few, preferably paper-based ones that stay in your home, even if you may move at any time.
Hou Lei: The medium is very important, it is the media that shapes the style. Just as the invention of Gutenberg printing and the popularity of engraving printing in the Ming Dynasty promoted the development of novels. The style of today's public essay has influenced the creation of prose essays. Movies, television, games, mobile phone short videos, etc., which have been born since the development of science and technology, are derived from literary scripts, but they have also fed literature, so there will be new media and new art in the future.
If you look at popular works, you may wish to look at the electronic version, classic works still need paper printing. In the future, it may develop to the point that popular works do not need to be printed, only excellent works can be printed and published, and the publication of paper books will be the supreme glory of writers and scholars.
Mr. San poet Mr. Qiao Xian once distinguished between vertical and horizontal printing when chatting with the author, saying that the former was to let the reader constantly nod his head when reading, because the ancients revered the classics and respected the writing paper, while the latter made the reader shake his head continuously, indicating that the sense of devotion to culture as a god has disappeared. How do you judge this stark opposition to mobile reading as an alternative to serious paper reading?
Lu Wenhao: I do not reject the form of mobile phone reading, I think it should become a new element of modern life, a powerful supplement. But now many young people are not far from the machine, because of mobile phone reading and have a strong sense of resistance to serious paper reading, which is worth worrying.
In this sense, whether it is in the way that others restrict or self-discipline, it makes sense to reduce the reading time of mobile phones. However, there should also be a limit to mobile reading restrictions, and we should let the content of serious reading be pushed in a form suitable for mobile reading. We want to enter and develop this new continent and diversify its content.
Li Jing: I am on the side of opposing mobile phone reading. It is not that people do not read mobile phones, but try to use only mobile phones to read the necessary information, and in the case of conditions, spend as much time as possible to maintain serious paper reading.
Man is a spiritual physical being, acquiring knowledge through the senses. The book appears in front of you with a beautiful, textured, and weighty image, and when you see and touch it, it becomes an immovable, dignified objective existence, which can arouse your sense of reverence for creation, wisdom, and spirit. Once all the spiritual products have entered the tiny cell phone, the "book" becomes something that comes and goes at will, and all awe-inspiring creations are degraded here. We need to be vigilant enough about this.
Hou Lei: I like Professor Tang's book "Public Opinion in Modern China: Taking the "Weekly Papers" and "Free Talks" as Examples", which tells about the relationship between the new literati of the Republic of China and the media, and even with politics. I myself also have the "Ta Kung Pao" and "Declaration", and from time to time I can take them out and look at them, so that I can learn the social language of the time and see everything in the world. Then there is the "tofu block" - essay column, many of which are written in words.
Vertical edition of the book, with the fragrance of books; literary language, long taste; traditional characters, Ji Gang Chang. However, I used an electronic database of ancient books and Republic of China books and periodicals to organize the historical documents in Beijing. Gone are the days when I went to the Ancient Books Reading Room of the National Library of China to copy ancient books with pencils as an undergraduate, and to the National Map General Library to check the microfilm of the Republic of China newspapers and periodicals. Youth is worth nostalgia, but isn't it better to solve it at home and share ancient books at any time with your mobile phone? Therefore, we are not to "oppose mobile phone reading to replace serious paper reading", but to promote the use of mobile phones for serious reading.
Professor Yin Haiguang of The University once poured out his heart for serious reading in a letter to former student Lin Yusheng: "Whether I will become the target of the public, I still think that reading and learning is the business of a small number of intellectual aristocrats. ...... Although I was very poor, I thought that in principle books must be expensive and elegantly decorated. This shows the dignity of knowledge. Between popularization and intellectual aristocracy, Yin Haiguang did not hesitate to choose the latter, he further elaborated: "We must recognize the value of reading. ...... Science and technology have helped mankind a lot in these aspects, but in some places it has really helped and has a counterproductive effect. "How do you view the love and defense of books by old-school Chinese readers such as Yin Haiguang and others, as well as the criticism of electronic media?
Lv Wenhao: The point of view of old-school readers such as Yin Haiguang is that it makes people think deeply and far away, not just looking at the popular things in front of them, which is a very valuable reminder for a very small number of people who aspire to be university inquirers and big thinkers. But this view is not suitable for the vast majority of ordinary readers and even ordinary scholars. What ordinary people need is to contact the reality of new things in time, and make explanations and explanations with more "fireworks".
Li Jing: I basically agree. The great book cannot praise the construction of the human soul in any way. As for the electronic media, it is said that they are merely human tools, when they serve the good of man — and indeed they benefit people in the dissemination of a culture of knowledge. But the general trend now is that people have turned the cart before the horse and turned themselves into tools of electronic media. It is very sad that man needs to free himself from his freedom.
Hou Lei: A generation has a generation of literature, and a generation has a generation of media. We are the generation that grew up reading horizontal books, which is different from the concept of our predecessors who read vertical books; the generation that reads e-books is also different from our concepts. The older generation must defend themselves, and the new generation must break the defense of the older generation and form their own values. Society operates in this kind of breaking—defending—breaking and defending. We sincerely respect the elders, but we still have to live our own lives.
Wu now has paper books all around us, but even the middle class with a good university education would rather brush all kinds of information and information from the media on their mobile phones than take the time to read paper books in depth. What is the relationship between Chinese's resistance and alienation from paper books (or serious content) and the low level of social ideas and the lack of public reason?
Lv Wenhao: Nowadays, people think more about personal career development and material enjoyment, and their reading life is also based on the relationship between the two to decide what to read and how much to read, and professional scholars are no exception. Since you don't "take the world as your own responsibility", you naturally don't have to read serious content that is far away from you.
The advantage of this reading situation is that it avoids the big and inappropriate generalities of the past, and it is closer to one's immediate goals. But its drawbacks are also obvious, and in the long run, the national concept will decline and public rationality will be lacking.
To solve this problem, institutional innovation is needed, and we should not always bundle so-called achievements and fame and fortune together, so that everyone is somewhat "idle".
Li Jing: The Internet has carried thousands of years of human knowledge creation to it, people can obtain it without leaving home and without communicating with others, and has turned the flesh-and-blood-related and personified "I-you" relationship between people into an indifferent one-way, anti-personalized "I-it" relationship between people and things. Alienation from paper books is only one of the symptoms of the Internet, and the low level of social concepts and the lack of public rationality are also a kind of Internet symptoms. The most fundamental way to rescue is, perhaps, to restore the "I-you" relationship between people that is vivid, direct, and concerned about each other.
Hou Lei: Nowadays, everyone uses digital cameras, but film photography still exists in a small range. Reading paper books in the future may become a niche hobby, but it will not die, and excellent paper books will become cultural relics and collective appreciation. Paper books = serious content, e-books = popular content, this binary opposition is not appropriate. Because paper books are also printed on the ground, any classics are also electronic. Take advantage of the present, come and collect the books, it will be too late.
Mr. He Zhaowu of Lu Tsinghua University wrote in the popular "Record of Going to School": "Reading does not necessarily have to have a purpose, and it is best to have no purpose, and reading itself is the purpose. Mr. Yu Yingshi, a historian, also said when looking back on his reading experience: "From the autumn of 1955 to January 1962, I spent a total of six and a half years studying at Harvard University. ...... This training corrected my free,rambling, spontaneous style of reading over the past eighteen years (1937-1955). "There is a big disagreement between the two seniors on reading, which side would you like to take and state the reasons?"
Lv Wenhao: Mr. Yu Yingshi's socio-political environment is relatively stable, and the conditions for engaging in in-depth research are far better than those of Mr. He Zhaowu in his middle-aged and young age.
It is true that Mr. He is more addicted to personal interests in reading, but he does not only pursue "fun" in the narrow sense, but in Boguan to take advantage. The reason why he later specialized in historical theory and historical theory and made important contributions was closely related to the relatively lofty ideological interests established in his youth. Of course, he wanted to do more specialized learning, and he also had the personal preparation to do such learning, but the times did not give him the objective environment to realize this desire, so he could only do something that interested him and was meaningful when conditions permitted.
Our material and academic conditions today have been greatly improved, and adhering to strict academic discipline like Mr. Yu and striving to write academic masterpieces should become the goal pursued by young scholars.
Li Jing: The "differences" between Mr. He Zhaowu and Mr. Yu Yingshi on reading are actually brought about by different natures and goals. There have always been two types of readers: "fox type" and "hedgehog type". Mr. Ho is a "fox", with a wide range of interests, sightseeing in the mountains and rivers, not seeking the center, but only seeking excitement, which is commensurate with his mission as a translator. Mr. Yu is a "hedgehog", with the same goal, no distraction, concentrated firepower, and must penetrate, which is also in line with his mission as a historian of ideas.
The spiritual world must exist in both kinds of people at the same time in order to be polymorphic. Because I myself am engaged in creation and criticism, I hope to be as loose and elegant as a fox, but I can't do it, and my nature is a focused hedgehog, which can only be involved in a very narrow way.
Hou Lei: In life, there are really not many things that can be freely chosen. And whether there is a purposeful reading is a place we can all choose. Man is free to choose not to be interfered with in a number of very divergent ideas, which is the most crucial freedom in life. The most painful thing for intellectuals is to choose purposeful reading. This kind of reading is equivalent to moving bricks, and it is a place of academic degeneration. Instead of doing this academically, it is better to simply move bricks.
If you feel anxious and depressed, you have the opportunity to live on a remote island for a year, without the Internet and mobile phone, and can only take five books to support the past year, which five books are you willing to take?
Lu Wenhao: This is a difficult question to answer. First, my reading activities are always associated with the real environment in which I live, in a sense to serve me to understand the problem; if I leave the specific living environment and live on a "paradise-like island", although I have no worries about food and clothing, I feel that the meaning of reading activities has been withdrawn, what else should I read? Second, to take ten thousand steps back, there really is such an environment, I hope to read the classics that I have always wanted to read carefully but have not calmed down to read, literature, philosophy, historiography, and social sciences can be, but it is difficult to say which five; third, I hope that the five books that I have studied deeply can help me better understand China's national and cultural characteristics, but not necessarily all of them are studying Chinese classics.
Li Jing: To stay on such a happy island for a year, of course, you must bring the most readable books. Then I will bring five suitable versions of the old books: the Book of Poetry, the Mozi, the Chronicle of History, the Chinese-English version of the Bible, and Dante's Divine Comedy. I bring the first three books because they flow with the original love, beauty and passion of our ancestors, and they can help me make up for my mother tongue lessons. The Chinese-English version of the Bible not only builds life, but also complements English and literary allusions. Dante's Divine Comedy is because of its origins and imagination, both the Western canon and the mother of many modern classics, and I have not yet read it properly.
Hou Lei: I will definitely bring five world masterpieces of more than a thousand pages, not three volumes and four volumes, but books that can be read and sleep under the head. For example: The History of Abandoned Tom Jones, The Legend of the Giants, The Fountainhead, David Copperfield, The Complete Works of the Bronze Seat. They are not required to have any practical significance, reading is only a part of private life, and the most important thing in the Internet age is not to interfere in the private lives of others. As a writer, the first meaning is to express yourself, and only by expressing it fully, rationally and practically can you have the value of being read and accepted.